Broken Wings
by Blue-PaperTiger
Summary: Set after Pitch Black. Riddick has gotten rid of the Holy man and the kid and is now back to avoiding mercs. But what happens when he gets an uninvited guest on a long trip home?
1. Chapter One: Leaving

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Riddick and any of its affiliations, Universal studios does. I do, however, own River.

_This is my second Riddick fan-fiction so please R&R, it's great to have feedback so I know what bits you like and which bits I cocked up on.  
_

**Chapter One: Leaving**

She sat at the dark corner table for a long while, waiting for something distracting to happen so she could leave unnoticed. She pulled the hood further over her face and sat back further into the grimy chair and closed her eyes for a moment, resting them, they'd been watching the bar's contents for some time now. _Why was this taking so long? This bar is meant to be notorious for its daily fights. _She pulled her gloves up higher onto her arms and kicked her legs up onto the table in front of her. It was going to be a long night.

Riddick sat at the bar ignoring the fight that was breaking out only two feet behind him. This was his first drink in a month and he wasn't going to let anything spoil it. Just as he raised the glass to his lips a man was slammed into the back of him, knocking the drink out of his hand, spilling it on the floor. Sighing wearily, he stood and turned to face the man that just ruined his drink. _What the hell?_ The guy was flat out on the floor at his feet, he must have only been nineteen at the oldest, and five ten at the tallest, the boy was a runt compared to Riddick. _I gotta pay more attention to my drink next time._ Shaking his head, he picked the kid up and threw him at the man who started the pushing then turned back to the bar to get one last drink before leaving.

River opened her eyes when an argument near the bar fired up. Apparently one guy is a little scared of male contact of any sort, apart from his fist coming in contact with others' faces. Opening her eyes, she glanced over, waiting for the fight to flare up and catch everyone's attention. _Come on, come on assholes, get on with it._ Her eyes glinted with expectation as they flicked between the two arguing men. She repositioned herself ready to make a quick and quiet exit through the door. The larger of the two lashed out first, knocking the other off his stool. Now's her chance, she practically leapt out of her chair and walked briskly to the door and out into the cold evening alley. The smell in the streets was worse than the smell in the bar, somehow. The night air was frozen and still, the sky was clear but no stars could be seen for the pollution in the atmosphere. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and started jogging in the direction of the space docks. _I need to get off planet real soon._

Riddick strode as patiently as he could through the bar, nudging people out of the way effortlessly with his broad muscled shoulders. Ignoring the glances off the street whores, he made his way back to 'his' ship. _Fucking idiot Toombs, always giving me your ships._ Riddick started jogging at a steady pace when he heard the distant sound of feds.

She listened out for anything, crouched behind a stack of crates. She looked over the edge of the crates and took a quick glance round the docks. _No one around, but no ships open either._ She crouched back down and closed her eyes, listening out for the clanking sound of metal shutters open. She eventually gave up after what she thought to be half an hour and sat down, leaning back on the crates and wrapping up into a tight ball. The cold air was getting to her; her thin tank top and tatty jumper were useless in this temperature. _I'll end up freezing the fuck to death before any dumb fuck turns up to let me on._ The sound of approaching boot steps caught her attention and she got back onto her feet and glanced over. A tall, broad dark figure was jogging its way over to a ship, a pretty smallish ship too. _Just the right size for little old me._ She smirked wickedly as she silently made her round around the crates, towards the ship.


	2. Chapter Two: Introductions

**Chapter Two: Introductions**

Riddick sat in the pilot's chair and started flipped several different switches and pressing numerous buttons. The engines followed in turn and started firing up, sending a gentle humming sound throughout the ship. The sound a pressure releasing changed his direction of thought and he turned around to face the ladder that led down to the quarters, and eventually to the cargo bay.

River cursed under her breath at the amount of noise the door made as it was shutting. _Well done dumbass._ Shaking her head she glanced round the small cargo bay, there was the occasional supplies crate but otherwise it was almost completely empty. _Great, where the hell am I meant to hide now?_ Approaching boot steps forced her into immediate action, she half dived half rolled towards the nearest and largest crate and crouched with her back to it. River closed her eyes tight and clenched her fists in anticipation. _My nerves are made of steel, my nerves are made of steel, my nerves are made of steel, my nerves are made of steel…_

Riddick jumped from half way down the ladder and landed on his feet with a thud. He glanced around the cargo bay suspiciously, turning the lights off when he noticed the switch beside him. _Come out, come out, wherever you are._ Pulling his goggles off, his silver mercury eyes picked up every detail in the blackness. There was a new smell in the air that wasn't here when he first boarded. He started forward, placing his feet down silently, muscles honed for attack.

River was shaking as the darkness consumed her vision; she stayed as still as she possibly could. Turning, she tried for a quick glance around the side of the crate and just managed to see something moving in the shadows, the dim light coming from the top of the ladder was useless in helping her make anything out. She attempted to move in the opposite direction when her foot slipped out from under her. _Shit! Oh God oh God oh God…_She clenched her teeth and screwed her eyes so tight she saw stars. It was then that she realised that she could feel hot breath on the back of her neck, coming from above. She froze, hardly able to breathe from fear, then something washed over her and she just opened her eyes and looked up, strangely feeling safe, despite her most likely pending doom hovering above. A large, strong hand reached down and picked her up into the air by the scruff of her jumper.

"And what do we have here?"

After what felt like a lifetime at staring at what seemed to be a pair of floating silver eyes, she realised she'd been biting down on her bottom lip and there was blood running down her chin. River remembered suddenly actually how afraid she was and blacked out in the grip of a monster.

Riddick stared at the tied up lump on his bunk for some time before he decided to go back to the cockpit. She was pretty in her own way; long wavy brown hair, big bright blue eyes and plump lips, despite the cuts. She was slender, a wisp compared to him, but he could feel the toned muscles covering her when he picked her up. _Whoever the hell you are, were probably gonna end up being a big pain in my ass. _He slumped down into the pilot seat once he'd set in the course. Furya.

River groaned as she woke up, her head felt like it was floating a few feet above the rest of her.

"Where the hell…"

"You're on _my_ ship."

The deep husky voice roused her from her sleep completely and she put her head up to look at the owner who was stood in the doorway. He was a silhouette to her, broad shoulders, muscular arms, a bold head, he was at least six two from her estimations and built to kill. She tried to sit up, to find her hands and feet were tied together.

"Hay! What the? Untie me!"

"Tell what the fuck you're doing on my ship and might just think about it."

She was off in her only little fit of rage and was ignoring everything he said.

"I swear if you did anything while I was out, I'll-"

Before she could finish her sentence he was pinning her down with a shiv to her jugular. River wriggled pointlessly under him, trying to loosen her legs to kick him off. Eventually she stopped struggling when she realised she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"You gonna kill me?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"What?"

_This guy's crazy! _

"What are you doing on my ship?"

She rolled her eyes in confusion and disbelief to the calm tone he was speaking in.

"I need to get off planet."

"Why?"

She started wriggling again, turning her face away from him. _No way am I answering that._

Riddick sat on top of her watching the expression on her face change from outrage to stone cold. _This girl really is gonna get me in trouble. _He hardened his pin down on her, causing her to yelp slightly from the pitch on her chest.

River suddenly felt a wash a calm run down her and she stopped wriggling, she merely turned her head to face Riddick and stared at the goggles shielding his eyes.

"Richard B. Riddick. Wanted criminal. Convicted of multiple murder and theft. Escaped from Butcher Bay. Escaped from Ursa Luna Double Max Slam. Escaped from Tangiers Penal Colony. Escaped from Ribald S. Correctional facility. Escaped from Altair Prison Network. Escaped from Crematoria…"

"How the fuck do you… are you a fucking merc? On _my_ ship!"

She shook her head, blinking several times as if waking from a dream.

"What? No! I'm no fucking merc, asshole!"

Riddick climbed off her and picked her up into midair, before slamming her into the wall and putting the shiv back to her throat.

"Then who the fuck are you?"

"Cutting my throat won't get you your answer."

Riddick threw back down onto the bed and leaned his fists against the wall sighing heavily. _What the fuck is goin' on?_ He looked at her from the corner of his eye as she rubbed her throat. _How does this girl know me? _Just as Riddick headed for the door to go and ponder of the revelations in the pilot's seat River finally spoke up.

"My name's River Cobb."


	3. Chapter Three: Breakfast

**Chapter Three: Breakfast**

_River…_ Riddick sat slumped in the pilot's seat with his feet up on an empty space on the control panel in deep thought. He'd been there for just over two hours and was just starting to think about cryo-sleep when a thudding sound roused him into action. Sliding down the ladder he came to find River's restraints picked open and thrown in the doorway. _What the hell is this girl?_ Riddick decided to worry about after getting something to eat, heading for the food bay, he didn't notice a shaded figure pinning herself to the ceiling.

She watched him pass under her and into the food bay before lowering herself down quietly. Her stomach growled in protest to her backing away from the source of food. _Food comes when I know what I'm doing._ She slapped a hand over her stomach when it growled even louder and climbed up into the cockpit. Glancing round, she soon found the control panels that would tell her where this ship was heading. The panel flashed to life as she touched it and the name **FURYA** popped up when she typed in her request. _Furya? Why the hell is he going there? It's a dead planet, right?_

"You're full of surprises."

The voice startled her at first but she knew exactly who it was, there was only one other person on board as far as she knew. River turned to face him and found that he was a lot closer than she first thought, right up in her face, noses practically touching.

"So are you."

Her voice squeaked slightly from the close proximity of the universe's most dangerous man.

"At least you're not shakin' this time."

"I don't like not being able to see, s'all."

She hissed her words at him spitefully, she hated being in a situation she can't control. She tried stepping round him but was just met with more of his face. She tried the other side and the same happened. Clenching her fists, she took a deep breath and blew it out harshly in annoyance. Glancing to the console, she noticed the time and decided that no matter how dangerous this guy was, he wasn't going to stop her from eating. Stepping to one side, and blocked once again by Riddick's solemn face, she slipped under his arm and walked calmly towards the ladder.

"Breakfast?"

"You cookin'?"

A wicked smirk spread across her full lips as she started down the ladder.

"For me, yeah."

Riddick watched her from the doorway as she moved around in the kitchen area gathering things to make breakfast with. _She glides like a bird._ Despite her tatty clothes she still looked like she belonged in a palace made of sapphires and diamonds. He tilted his head, she was something completely new to him and he couldn't understand it. And he hated not being able to understand things.

"You just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me?"

He hadn't notice her turn around to face him. She had an eyebrow raised at him, hands on her hips and foot tapping the metal floor. There was a smile on her lips as he sighed then stepped in and took over.


	4. Chapter Four: So?

**Chapter Four: "So…?"**

They sat on opposite sides of the table eating waffles with maple syrup and cold herbal tea. Riddick's eyes never left River as he ate, studying her every movement carefully. _There's something odd about this girl. Actually, about this whole fucking situation._ He continued to state even after she noticed.

_What?_ Standing slowly, she tidied her things away from the table. She heard his feet shift on the cold metal floor as he stood up. The kitchen area went silent as she stood with her back to him, not daring to move. The sudden jolt broke the silence as many things went toppling from shelves. River hit the fall harshly while Riddick was unaffected by the jerk. The feeling of cold dirty water washed over her and she couldn't bring herself to look up anymore and lowered her head, staring at her bruising hands. _When did that happen?_

'_River… River wake up._'

_Who's there?_

'_Time to wake up, bitch._'


	5. Chapter Five: Waking Up

**Chapter Five: Waking Up**

She sat curled up in a tight ball, holding her knees up to her chest and eyes closed rigid. The rain was getting harder and giving her a headache as it hammered down onto her short scruffy auburn hair. The bruises on her arms and legs had gone numb some time ago from the cold air that was gust into the side of her. Her heart beat thumped in her ears so loud that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps in the distance.

Riddick had been running through the dark alleyways of this forsaken city for long enough and slowed himself down to a brisk walk. The running boot steps that had been chasing him were out of ears' reach so he loosened up, slightly. He'd gotten careless, getting into that bar brawl so easily instead was just walking away, into the shadows. The idea that he almost got himself caught caused him to mentally kick himself as he glanced around yet another corner before turning it. Riddick yawned; he needed to get somewhere safe for the night, if there was such a thing on this mud hole of a planet. It was a mining planet at the edge of a far off solar system that most of the civilised avoided like the plague, but this was one of the few planets that didn't have it, though it has everything else. There were dirty, moral-less whores on every other street corner, and where there wasn't whores there was drug dealers, giving out fixes to any scum that had the cash. One whore reached out to Riddick as he passed by, running her overly long fake fingernails down his muscled arm. Before she had a chance to ask him he had his large hand holding her jaw in a pincer grip, almost lifting her off the ground so she was on her tiptoes. Her brown eyes went wide with fear as Riddick turned his head to look at her, pulling his goggles up to get a better look despite the fact that he knew all the whores on this planet were something that would blind a man. Grimacing in disgust at the state of the apparent woman, he threw her back against the wall and continued on, ignoring the shouting and screaming as the pimp taught the whore a lesson in losing a possible paying costumer. The coat was heavy with soaked up rain so he peeled the dripping item of clothing off and threw it to the ground, not minding the rain but the bitterly cold wind blowing across him. He continued round several different corners, trying to pick the emptiest one that didn't send him in a circle.

She hit the ground with a cracking thud. Blood trickled from her nose and a large cut on her bottom lip caused by a large stone-hard fist. The dark dirty world around her was spinning slightly and everything was a haze. Whimpering quietly as she forced herself to sit up and hold her right hand near to her, she blinked several times while looking round for the one she'd been hiding from up on top of this roof. She'd been dragged to this very motel many times before by the same man, forced to do unspeakable things, things she'd rather forget.

"River! River, you whore!"

Cringing, she turned around looking behind her, at the edge of the roof.

"Get out her bitch! I ain't finished!"

She continued to stare at the edge of the roof, wondering how far down it went, if he still might be used it his fucked up twisted little games even after she was dead on the sidewalk.

"RIVER!"

Staggering to her feet, she ignored the searing pain from her wrist and started limping towards the edge weakly.

"Not today asshole, not ever again."

Closing her eyes, she let herself fall backwards, into the darkness of the alleyway, and the concrete below.

Riddick cocked his head as the smell of fresh blood suddenly filled the air. Standing still for a moment, Riddick had the sudden urge to look up as an impending feeling of something, almost like rain, as coming. Just as his eyes came in line with the edge of the roofs above he knew something was happening. He pulled his goggles back on before he continued around the next corner. He was suddenly stopped by the loud rustling thud that echoed out from in the darkness only a few feet in front of him. The shiv was ready I his hand before he even had to think about it, it came as second instinct now. Crouching down and ducking to the wall to the side of him, he lifted his goggles slowly so as to not catch any light reflecting in his eyes and then looked round. There was nothing to be seen, but Riddick had learnt by now that just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't waiting round the corner for you. Standing slowly, he circled slowly, checking every inch of the alleyway with his mercury eyes. He stopped on a large bunch of rubbish bags, the hanging limb catching his attention. Walking over carefully, he looked down at an unconscious girl in a heap. He instinctively looked up to see a man looking right back down at him who disappeared quickly before Riddick could focus in on his face. Looking back down at the girl, he shrugged, knowing the man was probably coming to finish her off. Just as he turned his back and took a few steps away from her broken body, a quiet groan stopped him. She was coming round, slowly and painfully.

River felt as though she were floating in midair. The body was numb in some places, writhing in agony in others. There was something pressing against the side of her, something warm that was moving. A man's chest breathing at a strong, steady rate. She could feel the flexed muscles on his arms that were wrapped around her waist and knees, carrying her somewhere, fast.


	6. Chapter Six: Reality Sucks

**Chapter Six: Reality Sucks**

River opened her eyes to find herself in complete darkness. Her whole body felt as though it was throbbing in pain and she wasn't sure if she were lying or sitting or standing. She tried to lift her head, or so she thought, and found she was lying on her side. She decided it was about time to try and figure out whether or not her eyes were actually open and so she tried blinking.

Riddick signed the papers as William Johns for the fuel, wondering about his unexpected passenger. She'd only make life more difficult. He sighed as he pressed a button to seal the hatch doors, sealing them inside until the next stop. He rubbed the sides of his head after pulling off his goggles, feeling relieved to have air finally reach that part of his face. Riddick stood leant on the doorframe as he watched the figure on the bed stir. He let his thoughts out in a quiet sigh.

"I'm getting soft."

"Hello?"

The figure moved slightly, seemingly disorientated but awake. Riddick moved into the room silently, making his way towards the chair that was placed beside the bed.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

He watched her lips move as she spoke, there was no fear in her voice.

"Depends who you're looking for."

She stopped moving once she got a response. Only her bright blue eyes moved all over the room, searching desperately for the source of the voice.

"Umm… who's that?"

Riddick smirked as he pulled his goggles off and stared at her.

"The bogeyman."

Her eyes went wide as she stared at the glowing silver eyes in front of her. Her hands started shaking and she winced at the pain from her left wrist. As she put her other hand on it she felt that the bone had been twisted into an unnatural position and she screwed her eyes tight shut from the searing agony. Riddick looked at her wrist; it was dislocated, not broken. Reaching out, he wrapped his hand around hers. She flinched slightly from the sudden feel of his hand on hers, eyes still searching frantically for a face in the blackness.

"It's dislocated."

Pointlessly she looked down towards her wrist, wondering how he could see or know. Opening her mouth to question then closing it again thinking twice, she moved her hand out the way and let him take hold of her wrist. Without warning he snapped it back into place, the sound of grinding bones filling her ears. River screamed then bit down on her bottom lip as the pain slowly started to die down to an annoying ache, merely a single tear falling from her tightly shut eyes. Riddick let go and leant back in his seat, watching her face as it relaxed ever so slowly, watching the single tear run down her cheek and hang on her delicately chiselled jaw line for a moment before falling to the messy quilt below. Finally letting go of her lip, she opened her mouth, pausing as she tried to remember which direction to look in before speaking.

"Thank you."

Standing, Riddick silently left the room and headed for the cockpit to check on things.


	7. Chapter Seven: Where Do We Go From Here?

**Chapter Seven: Where Do We Go From Here?**

Riddick decided to have a shower, to clean off the filth from the previous planet he'd never dare call home. He rubbed his eyes as he walked, knowing every inch of the small ship by now. He was stopped mid step by the sound of running water coming from behind the closed bathroom door. Looking up, he raised an eyebrow at the unexpected sound. Stepping back he glanced into the room that his guest was once in to find that there was only a slight imprint of her left on the bed. Looking back to the bathroom door he stepping towards it, leaning his forehead on it as he listened to the quiet melody that drifted threw the door to him.

"_O môr henion i dhû:  
Ely siriar, êl síla.  
Ai! Aníron Un__dómiel. _

_Tiro! Él eria e môr.  
I 'lîr en êl luitha 'úren.  
Ai! Aníron..._"

He closed his eyes as he listened, not understanding the words but enjoying the melody she created. The door creaked faintly as it moved slightly from the weight of his head leaning on it. The singing stopped instantly.

"Bogeyman?"

Riddick blinked a few times, snapping out of the little trance that the song had put him under.

"The name's Riddick."

The shower stopped running and the sound of wet feet padding out onto the metal floor caused him to step back from the door and wait for it to open. After a moment the door opened and a wet head poked out.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. Well, I thought…"

Her voice trailed off she realised that he didn't seem to look like he cared about her having a shower.

"Err… I'm River, River Cobb."

She offered her hand out. Riddick glanced down at it then took it firmly and shook it.

"Richard B. Riddick."

River smiled broadly then retracted her head back into the bathroom. After a few seconds the door swung open and she walked out wrapped in a towel, her clothes wrapped up in a bundle under her arm. Riddick watched her as she passed him and went back into the bedroom. Shaking his head and sighing, he walked into the bathroom and set the shower running again.

River sat on the bed once she had finished dressing into some woman's clothes she found in a tiny wardrobe she found tucked into the corner of the room. It was a strappy dark blue dress that came just above her knees, it had a little shoulder jacket of the same colour to go with it, sleeves just a bit longer than her arms. She sat twiddling with the ends of the sleeves in her fingers, wincing occasionally from a twinge in her newly located wrist. Looking around, she noticed a piece of rag hanging out of a drawer next to the bed so she pulled it out and started to bandage her wrist with it.

Riddick stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. After turning the shower off he looked in the mirror above the sink and rubbed his chin. It as smooth from the shave he had while in the shower, he then ran a hand over his freshly shaved head and leant on the sink thinking. After a while he looked over at the door. He snatched up his goggles as he opened the door and walked out, still towel wrapped around his waist loosely. Padding across the metal floor quietly he paused in the doorway to the bedroom and watched River as she wrapped her wrist with a support bandage. He pulled the goggles over his head and covered his eyes just before she lifted her head and looked over at him. Smiling, she stood up and twirled, looking down at her newly acquired dress proudly. Riddick looked at it curiously, wondering where she pulled it from. She stopped twirling and smiling when she noticed the expression on his face.

"I found it in that old wardrobe. Hope you don't mind. I can put it back if you-"

"No. It's fine."

She smiled again then sat back down on the bed and looked round, sucking at the bottom lip in a bored fashion. Riddick waited for a moment before walking into the room and pulled a drawer that he'd reserved for his clothes and pulled what he was going to get dress into out and lay it on the bed behind. She glanced round that realised what he was doing.

"Oh. Sorry."

With that she wondered out of the room quickly and started to investigate her new surroundings.

Riddick tightened the laces on his boots then looked back to the control board, checking over the ship's vitals and what planets were nearby that might be worth stopping for a spell. His hands glided over switches and buttons effortlessly as he continued to look at the scanner, trying to decide on a destination. He hardly noticed when River silently stepped her bare feet into the cockpit, looking all over at the many different switches. River looked at the pilot as she walked over to it, leaning over beside the chair she looked at all the various buttons, gauges and the vitals' screen. Riddick glanced at her then stood up out of the chair, causing her to stand up straight. She smiled, her auburn hair still slightly wet. Riddick spread his arms across between the two chairs, leaning on the head rests'.

"You're a _temporary _guest on _my_ ship."

The smile fell from her face to the harsh tone in his deep voice. She frowned and her eyes sharpened, fixing on his eyes behind the goggles. Her entire persona seemed to turn ice cold and venomous. She spat her words in a cutting tone.

"You chose to pick me up. You chose to bring me on your ship. You made me your fucking temporary guest."

River turned to walk out of the cockpit and away from Riddick only to find a vice grip on her arm as he clamped onto her with his strong hand. With a slight tug she was yanked back into the room and spun round to find herself nose to nose with the goggle-less Riddick. Her frown melted away instantly and her eyes went wide, her mouth barely keeping shut as she found she was staring into a pair of silver pools that seemed to stretch into the blackest and furthest parts of eternity. Her bottom lip shivered vaguely as she wanted to say and ask a thousand things but forgot her voice.


	8. Chapter Eight: Big Girls Don't Cry

**Chapter Eight: Big Girls Don't Cry**

River lay on the bed with her hands behind her head staring at the ceiling. Her mouth still gaped open slightly and her eyes made odd shapes as they travelled all over the place while she thought. Her toes continuously curled up and out as she tried to comprehend why his eyes were like that and to remember where she'd seen eyes like that before or whether it was just a dream. Finally her mouth closed and she frowned in frustration in not being able to understand her strange recollection of those stunning eyes. She sat up abruptly and stared out of the door with a determined look on her face.

Riddick's eyes flickered open as he started to wake up. Her kicked his legs off from leaning on the empty space in the control board and looked at the ship's current position and the time. Pulling the goggles off over his head he rubbed his weary eyes then flipped a switch to turn off the auto pilot.

"So… where we going?"

He rolled his eyes to fix on the figure that had just materialised in the co-pilot's chair. She looked at him, staring at his eyes before forcing herself to look away, trying to look interested in the endless outstretching space ahead. He tilted his head, smirking at her discomfort in his eyes.

"They're shined."

River turned her head back round to look at him as he focused on which switches his hands would glide over.

"Means I can see in the dark."

"So the goggles are for protecting your eyes from light?"

He stopped everything, seeming to freeze in thought at her words. She tilted her head, waiting for him to respond.

"I'm a creature of the night. I'm a…"

He looked down, unable to understand why he couldn't finish his sentence. River leaned forward and down, trying to get a look up at his face to see if he was ever going to finish explaining.

"You're a what?"

Riddick continued back to flipping switches and checking metres.

"So what were you doing falling off roofs for?"

She clamped her jaw and turned away, not expecting such a sudden and painful subject change.

"Well, I-"

"Most people only have one thing in mind when they go roof jumping."

He turned slowly and fixed his eyes on her face. Her eyes were flickering with the memories he'd brought up. Suddenly her face turned cold and hard, she was glaring at him from the corner of her eyes. Within an instant she'd wiped round and out of the chair and was heading for the door, only to find an out stretched arm blocking the way. Riddick continued to study her face, stepping towards her, forcing her to back up. She looked in all directions as she tried to avoid his eyes until she ran out of space to back up in to and bumped her back into a wall, stopping her and forcing her eyes to lock with Riddick's. He leaned in close to her face with his own, faces barely centimetres away from each other, noses brushing.

"You have a curious effect on me, little girl, but that won't stop me from-"

"What are you?"

Her voice came out as a puff of breath she couldn't control. Her lips continuing to hand open slightly from the intense stare he held her in.

"I'm the bogeyman, baby."

He leaned in even closer, their lips brushing for a fleeting moment, sending shivers down her spine, her eyes flickering slightly with anticipation. Quickly she remembered herself and slipped down and under his arm, half running for the door. Once again she was stopped by a pair of strong arms wrapping around her and holding her in place.

"You're a convict."

Her voice was shaky as it came out as a panicked whisper. Riddick ran his nose and lips up against the side of her neck and cheek, pausing for a moment at her ear to whisper in it.

"And you love it."

Her eyes closed momentarily and her breath uncontrollably escaped from her lungs in a hushed moan. River clenched her fists as she tried to regain even the slightest bit of control. Screwing her eyes tight shut, she took in a deep breath, trying to ignore as Riddick took in a deep breath of her scent. Eventually she opened her eyes and a single tear ran down her cheek as she managed to regain her voice.

"Let go."

Riddick did as she asked and released her, watching as she walked for the door hastily.

"There's no getting off this boat."

His words caused her to pause in the doorway of the cockpit for a moment before she ran to the bedroom and finally let go of her restrained tears.


	9. Chapter Nine: Behind Those Eyes

**Chapter Nine: Behind Those Eyes**

Riddick stood in the doorway to the bedroom and watched her for a moment. She was fast asleep, her arms were wrapped round the pillow tightly and she was curling the quilt up in her toes. River started to stir when he stepped into the room, her eyelids flickering as she began to wake from her dream. He sat himself on the chair beside the bed and leant his elbows in his knees, waiting. She took a deep breath and curled into a tighter ball before stretching out and opening her eyes. Riddick's head was down and she could barely see him in the dark, she made the smallest silhouette and decided it was his. Rolling on to her back she yawned, but she never took her eyes off him the entire time. Sitting up, she waited for him to speak, and hopefully apologize, but she had the feeling that would never happen.

"We're coming into land at Kova in five minutes…"

Riddick lifted his head and looked at her for a long moment, as if convincing himself of something that he'd decided. Standing, he started walking for the door slowly.

"… that's where I'm dropping you're ass."

He paused in the doorframe when he heard the slight noise of rustling bed sheets. Turning slowly, he found himself nose to nose with River, who was staring at his eyes curiously.

"They seem so familiar."

Riddick raised an eyebrow, letting her reach up and hand a finger across his eyebrow gently. A flash of recollection passed over her eyes and she stepped back from him with an expression of completely disbelief on her face.

"You… you could have stopped him. You could have done something!"

Riddick turned to face her completely, faintly confused by her sudden outrage with him. River slumped down onto the end of the bed and stared wide eyed at the metal floor, mouth hanging open. After a while she closed her mouth and remembered to blink then looked up at him with anger on her face but sorrow in her eyes. When she finally decided to refresh his memory she looked down at his feet.

"I was forced into a criminal life. I was made to steal and when I didn't he'd beat and rape me."

Her eyes flicked up sharply and fixed on his.

"He would force me to take a hallucinogenic after so that I didn't know where I was or who I was."

Riddick stepped back into the room, leaning on the wall with his arms folded, listening contently despite the frown across his brow.

"I saw you one night when I was planning on running away, stowing away on the soonest leaving ship. He drugged me before I could get away and then he went about punishing me."

Her voice cracked and pain started to slip into her words.

"I can't remember anything after he'd do that to me. Nothing."

Her words started to choke in her throat and she had to stop, taking a few short sharp breaths, trying to control herself so she could finish explaining.

"He'd make sure that I could remember when he'd punish me though, hoping I wouldn't do it again. There was this one time in a bar when I got caught when I was picking some guy's pocket. He kicked the living shit outta me right in the middle of that bar and nobody did a motherfucking thing to help. A few even joined in! And all I can remember from that was these silver eyes staring at me from the corner, just staring as those sons of a bitches kicked me into intensive care."

The slightest wash of regret passed over Riddick's face for a moment as he suddenly remembered. He girl didn't stand a chance against the four guys that were kicking her endlessly, she was barely able to breathe at first but when the others joined in she stopped altogether. Standing, River walked up to Riddick as his frown melted from his face.

"And you just watched."

With that she walked out the door and towards the cockpit.

River sat in the co-pilot's chair with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, staring out at the vastly approaching planet. It was huge, much larger that the last planet she was on and it had a purple hue about it that made it feel strangely welcoming.

"Kova's a quiet market planet. Plenty of factories and merchant offices to find work in, if you can stomach the fifteen hour days."

Riddick didn't more from the door, instead he just stared over at the co-pilot chair. Turning around the side of the chair, she looked at him then back at the planet.

"What are you gonna do?"

He starting walking towards the pilot sit slowly, hands in his pockets, his fingers playing with the edge of the shiv that was stuffed in his pocket. River spun round and out of the chair to stand directly in front of his path, staring up into his eyes, trying to see through his goggles. Reaching up, she pulled them off slowly and kept hold of them.

"You hide behind those eyes of yours. You think the whole universe is fooled by those silver pools. What are you hiding from?"

Riddick clamped his hands around her wrists and pulled her closer, whispering in her ear.

"I'm not. The worlds' are hiding from me."

Leaning up, she replied quietly in his ear.

"You think that things are gonna change once you kick me off? They won't. You'll still be guilty. You're always gonna be guilty. That's why you're a con."

He turned and pushed her away towards the door, keeping his back to her as he sat down in the pilot chair and started readying the ship for landing. His hands glided over switches as he tried to ignore the fading sound of her foot steps.


	10. Chapter Ten: Separated

**Chapter Ten: Separated**

Riddick found himself in the filthiest bar the planet had to offer, with cheap booze and even cheaper women. The Maidenhead bar was a small legend amongst the people on the planet, and the few visitors it had made a strong habit of avoiding it like the plague. If there weren't drugs there were whores, and when there weren't whores there were brawls. Fortunately, tonight there were whores, so the bar was reasonably peaceful, apart from the occasional petty argument over which man was taking which whore home, or to the nearest motel. Sitting in one of the few empty bar stools, he ordered himself a strong drink and began to size up the men around him for just in case he needed to fight his way back out at any point tonight. Keeping his head down, he downed his drink in one and ordered another straight after, throwing a couple of UD's down onto the bar. Tonight he was going to drown his memories in cheap liquor then screw them away with the nearest woman around in an unnamed motel room nearby.

River walked down the road with her arms wrapped around her. Her heels dragged across the floor from having to grab the nearest pair of shoes, which happened to be several sizes too big for her feet. Her eyes constantly flicked from left to right, looking away quickly when someone met her glances. It was late autumn on Kova and there was fog covering every street. Her breath was coming out as steam and she was covered in goose pimples. As she turned a corner she found herself staring up at the multicoloured neon signs begging for people to come in and drink or eat or buy any woman they wanted. The street was surprisingly busy for so late at night but none of them were sober enough to tell her where the nearest decent hotel was, many of them took her asking as an invitation. At that sort of a reaction she'd merely back away slowly and walk as quickly as she could onwards down the street. Ignoring their shouts and taunts, she eventually found someone that seemed sober enough and clean to ask. Walking over, she took a deep breath, feeling completely exposed all on her own.

"Excuse me? Umm, could you tell me where the nearest hotel is please?"

The turned to look at her with a stern expression on his face, in deep consideration about something as his eyes stopped on her.

"Sir? Hotel?"

She yelped slightly as his hand clamped onto her arm.

"Hay. Let go."

Trying futilely to shake his grip, she continued to try and pull away from him when he began to pull her into the closest dark alleyway.

"Let go of me! Get off!"

She refused to walk so he had to resort to dragging her along as she dug her heels into the ground and continued to try and yank her arm free.

"Fuck you, asshole!"

She kicked at him at first, which turned out to be useful in only angering him more, so she turned to biting his hand, which worked, for a moment. This gave her a chance to run a few metres before he grabbed her hair from behind and pulled her down to the ground. River's eyes watered from the sudden impact with the ground and then went about to fight her attacker from off the top of her. Screaming as she lashed out, she clawed his cheek, drawing blood, which resolved in her own cheek receiving a fist. Ignoring that as much as possible, she continued to lash up at him, wriggling underneath him like a worm. After a moment she resorted to kneeing him in the back and slamming her elbows into his chest and thighs. Once again this resulted in punches being thrown, but this time she punched back, and somehow managed to knock him off balance, after kneeing him in the back again, she finally got him from off of her. Realising her chance, she got to her feet, and ignoring as her shoes fell off her feet, she scrambled for the main street as quickly as she could.

Riddick was on edge as he walked along the empty streets at an unseemly hour at night. He was inwardly cursing himself, he'd been letting himself feel guilty at kicking the beaten brat off his ride. He'd been busy getting as much for his money off the cleanest whore he could find in the Maidenhead bar when he'd groaned out the kid's name. At that he'd kicked the whore out and had an extremely cold shower but still couldn't get his mind off her. She's was the second person that had ever made him feel guilty, the last one he managed to shake off, and he was going to have to try just as hard to shake this one. Turning another corner, he came out onto one of the main market streets, the bright neon lights of various shops and brothels causing him to pull his goggles down. Reaching further up, he pulled his hood over his head to hide his face from any curious eyes that might be watching. He walked silently down the street, not making a sound with his feet, well aware of the authorities standing on the corner, talking with someone who pointed them off and an alleyway. Riddick decided it would be best to walk in the opposite direction of the pointed finger, he wasn't in any kind of mood for dealing with law enforcers. As he strolled pass them he heard his name buzz in over the radio, they were getting faster at spotting him ever time he landed. Lowering his head by a few more inches, he made his way towards the nearest corner and turned it. Stopping on the corner and pressing his back against the wall, he listened intently to the radio as it described a bold man with goggles who was around six feet tall and well built, who was accompanied by a girl, slim build with short auburn hair who was around five nine. A curious hum growled from Riddick as he started to make his way back to the docking station silently, disappearing into the shadows.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Guilt Will Destroy You

**Chapter Eleven: Guilt Will Destroy You**

River was becoming more and more aware of an extra pair of echoing footsteps coming from behind her. They were barely audible but when she stepped lightly she caught ear of them. Every time she quickened her pace so did her follower. Whenever she turned around to look she could see no one, but she knew they were there, she could still hear them. Breaking in a run, she turned every corner she came to; taking a right, then a left then another right, until someone's foot stopped her. Hitting the ground some force, she winced as her wrist clicked from the impact. Rolling over she found herself being stood over by several silhouettes. The first thing she knew was a woman's voice.

"Are you sure it's this one? She's a little too scrawny for my reckonin'."

The man who seemed to be in charge responded with an acknowledging tone, looking down at the girl in question.

"It's this one. I can tell…"

"How?"

The leader knelt down and held River's chin in his hand for a moment, studying her eyes for a few seconds before standing back up and looking to his comrade.

"Look at her eyes. She wasn't running from us."

The two voices continued to discuss something of her while another man picked her up off the floor and handcuffed her hands behind her back. The sudden change in positioning left stars floating in front of her eyes for a short moment.

"Back to the ship. He wouldn't have left planet yet, and this one's gonna come in useful."

The leader looked at her before another man took hold of her arms sharply and started to lead her forward down the alleyway while the rest strolled behind.

Riddick sat down on a bar stool and ordered a drink. After refusing to take his hood down and breaking a man's wrist in confirmation that it wasn't going to be coming down any time soon, he focused on remaining just another civilian in the over crowded bar. After downing his drink he glanced behind him and out of the musky window at the docking stations opposite. Once he spotted his ship still in place he glanced around the contents of the bar, there were several pilots due to the location and it was fairly quiet. The small old fashioned Tv above the bar was on the news channel and the usual reports were buzzing out, murder, theft and Riddick. He smirked at the report on him spurted out that he was reported to be on seven different planets at the same time. There were blurred images of supposed snapshots of the escaped criminal; they were useless in informing the planets what he looked like, apart from a bald blur in black. Then another pictured flashed up onto the screen of a figure in the background, and then it zoomed in on the figure, a skinny girl with a blue dress and scrawny ginger hair. She seemed cold and skittish; she was looking behind at another figure, taller, with its back to the camera. It zoomed in once again, but on the other figure, it was a man; muscular, bald with a black band around the middle of his head and all in black. A serious male voice came over as the picture of a girl and Riddick came up onto the screen.

"_This girl is travelling with Richard B. Riddick and should be held as a danger to the public. If you sight her or Riddick, do not, I repeat DO NOT approach either but report it to the local authorities or to the mercenary guild on…_"

The bar door continued to swing on its hinges as Riddick sprinted down the street.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Some Kind of Hero

**Chapter Twelve: Some Kind of Hero**

River landed with a crunch, the chains rattled on the wall behind her. Keeping her head down she got up onto her knees and stayed completely still while her capturers loaded in crates and such like. Ignoring the bruises she listened to the conversations and noises outside, there were different tones of humming at different pitches at different volumes. They were in the docking stations, and by the turn of the conversation outside this ship were going to be leaving soon. The final few entered the ship and sealed the door, merely glancing over at their cargo still on the floor in a corner at the back. River's eyes fixed on the control panel as a pair of dirty fingers moved over and pressed various buttons, programming in the destination. Her muscles quivered slightly as she slowly stood up and reaching a hand out towards the door, eyes never moving off the small group gathered round the cockpit discussing slams.

"Don't even think about it scrawny."

A gun nozzle was lifted almost within an instant and aimed directly at her head. The owner of the elevated gun arm hadn't even turned his head to have known that she was heading for the exit.

"Chain her."

As two of his comrades moved towards her she straightened up and bolted at the door, yanking at the lever until a pair of strong hands latched onto each arm and pulled her away with ease.

"Get off me! What the fuck do you want! What did I do?"

The leader turned around sharply and almost launched out of his seat and towards her as the other two chained her wrists to the hull. A pincer grip took hold of her chin and directed her head up to his'. His jaw was held in a strong clamp and his tone was harsh and relentless.

"You're his little toy and we've got ya. He's gonna come lookin', and when he does…"

He dug his filthy nails into her skin until letting go and flicking her head aside roughly before returning to his seat.

Riddick strapped himself in while his other hand glided over switches at high speed, getting the little ship to take off as fast as it possible could without ripping it apart. He grinded his teeth and chanted his own little mantra in his head while the ship blasted off out of the atmosphere. He'd set a scan up for recent launching activity, ion trails and was now following the most recent trail found. Pulling his goggles off, he glanced over at the lifeless co-pilot chair thoughtfully, and the cryo-sleep equipment that had been thrown onto it. Growling at himself, he turned away from the chair and its contents before eventually looking back at it. A beep from the control panel caught his attention and he focused on it, slightly relieved, cryo-sleep wasn't the best of things to be worrying about at the moment. Running his finger over the screen a path had set itself up, the predicted course of the vessel he was hunting, and it was heading straight for planet UV6. Frowning, he double checked the coordinates, unable to think for a second why exactly they were heading for an uninhabited system, but then it clicked, civilisation wouldn't approve of murdering a bystander, innocent or otherwise. These mercs were planning on using River as a piece of meat, just like Johns planned for the kid, just for different prey. Riddick confirmed the course then let the autopilot take over, not hesitating to grab up the cryo gear and set it up within minutes.

River tugged futilely at the restraints clamped to her wrists, ignoring the pain from her wrist or the complaints of her capturers. Gritting her teeth, she yelled in her throat as she continued to pull as hard as she could.

"For fuck sake, bitch. Cut it the fuck out!"

Despite the obvious aggression in one of the merc's voice she carried on pulling, even the leader's fists were starting to clench tightly.

"Shut the fu-"

"FUCK YOU!"

The mercenaries, let alone River herself, were expecting her surprisingly loud outburst. The ship went silent for a few minutes while each one of them looked around in an awkward fashion.

"Please just let me go."

"Shut up,"

The leader turned his attention to the communications monitor that was buzzing on, a black silhouette that was barely visible flickered onto the screen.

"you ready to trade? You for her."

"Why the fuck should I care?"

The leader nodded slowly, lowering his gaze, then within seconds had spun round and as heading for her. Her eyes met his for a split second just before he kicked her wrist into the hull, the thud and crack being the only sounds echoing through the ship for a long while. There was no reaction from the figure on screen, apart from arm reaching up and turning a light on. Riddick's jaw was clamped and his eyes were studying the leader of the merc's extremely carefully underneath his goggles.

"And?"

River finally managed to open her eyes and stop them from watering as much, the room was swaying from side to side slightly and she hadn't noticed that her mouth was hanging open a bit. Before she could comprehend what had happened or what was happening she found her head pinned between his boot and the hull of the ship, stars bursting in front of her eyes. Riddick kept his eyes fixed on her; the little finger on her broken hand was twitching slightly, a drop of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. The leader at length turned his attention back to the monitor and the person on it, who now seemed increasingly tense, smirking at the reaction that he finally got. After a long enough time to satisfy the guy's joy in Riddick's discomfort he took his foot off her face and walked back over to the monitor, leaning in close to it to get a good look at his face.

"Planet's surface for the trade?"

Riddick put his fist threw the monitor then roared out at the top of his lungs.

"I hate this shit."

Turning the autopilot off, he plotted an entry course threw the planet's atmosphere and started searching for a good landing place.

River blinked several times as one of the mercs dragged her out into a dark, frozen wasteland. The blood running from her nose and ear froze within moments of being in the bitter wind and her hands and feet went numb. Looking down, she managed to open her eyes long enough to see that her toenails were already starting to go blue from frostbite. When she suddenly found the ground she noticed that it was snowing heavily and even after a few seconds on the ground there was already a layer of snow on her. She yelped as she tried to lean on her hands and sit up, flopping back down to the ground just as fast. Rolling onto her side, she looked round; there was only two pairs of legs stood in front of her, the world around her was all different hues of indigos and violets and there was a blizzard whipping around across the flatland in front of her. Looking up, they seemed to be in some kind of ice alcove that was shelter enough from the worsening storm.

"Are ya sure he's comin' for her?"

Logan turned to his contemplating friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah he's fucking coming for her. Look at her, he has a thing for rag dolls like her."

"Yeh, I kinda do, don't I?"

Logan looked over at Tony to find nothing but falling snow and a fallen grapple gun with only a few tiny drops of blood soaking into the snow. Aiming his rifle in any and all directions, he found himself in an ice alcove on a UV planet with a skinny girl and nothing else but the blizzard. He'd been there for at least half an hour since the rest of the team had gone to set up the pick up point for Riddick. There was no sign of them, no radio contact and no sight of anything ever since but snowflake after snowflake.

River watched as a pair of legs swept down from on top of the alcove in silence and wrapped around one of the merc's necks, lifting him up into midair before snapping his neck and throwing him over the side and down into the precipice at the edge of their sheltering spot. They disappeared back over the edge before Logan turned to find himself alone. Rolling onto her side to face him, she finally managed a smirk as she reached up and wiped the frozen blood from under her nose.

"You're fucked, mate."

Logan turned to her sharply, firing just over her head in a panic to the sudden noise. He was losing his cool and getting nervous, it wasn't just the cold that was causing him to shake.

"Shut up."

"He's gonna fuck you up-"

"Shut up! Just shut up."

He knew he was getting trigger happy and skittish, which was going to get him or his team killed, which costs in his line of work. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a minute to gather himself in readiness. River's eyes fixed on a foot that dangled over the side of the top of the alcove. Riddick dropped down in silence, unnoticed by the merc even in the slightest. She shifted, trying to prop herself up onto her elbow, catching Logan's attention. There was something moving that he could see in the corner of his eye, turning he firing, spraying the snowy air with bullets. Once he finally got himself to take his finger off the trigger, and the smoke and ice splinters had settled, he found that he'd been firing at thin icy air.

"What the fuck?"

A strong hand wrapped its steely fingers around his neck and lifted him clean off his feet. In a state of desperation he gripped the rifle, sending a spray of bullets across the space and slice into the icy walls of the alcove. The firing suddenly stopped as Logan jolted forward, spluttering as his blood spilled to the ground from the slash in his abdominal iota, and then with a slight twist of his wrist had snapped his neck. Tossing him aside, Riddick turned his attention to the girl on the ground at the back of the alcove. River managed a smile for a few minutes before getting it punched off her face. Frowning in shock, she stopped her head from rocking from the force of the fist and looked at him, stars shooting around in front of her eyes.

"What the fuc-"

"Shut the fuck up."

Riddick curled his arms under her and picked her up with ease before jogging out into the blizzard.

River sat in the co-pilot chair with a few blankets wrapped around her and her knees pulled up against her chest. She was still shaking even after Riddick had finished bandaging her hand and wrist. Cold water was dripping from her nose and chin as the ice in her hair melted and dripped down to the blanket. The small ship drifted out of the planet's atmosphere with ease at the slightest touch of a button under Riddick's finger.

"So… why did-"

"Shut. Up."

Riddick stood up and leaned over her chair, pulling his goggles off slowly, he got right up into her face and looked her in the eyes.

"So what kind of a hero are you?"

"I'm no hero."

River tilted her head to the side, smiling gently and shaking her head at him a few times.

"You're my hero."

Leaning forward, her nose rubbed passed his, her eyes sliding down to his lips then back up again. Her lips slipped apart a crack as his heated breath sent shivers down her spine. Sucking in some breath as if she was about to speak, but she never even got the chance to finish her breath before Riddick's lips impacted into her own. Shifting in her seat, she let the blankets fall off her shoulders as she moved her body closer up to his. Curling her legs around his leg and running it up, she felt his body react to her touch, his hands sliding down her back and pressing her even closer to him. As their mouths explored each other, his hand ran down her leg and followed it round to where it had wrapped around his waist. He then grabbed her arm and slid it towards her hand, grabbing her wrist and pinning it above her head. His eyes flickered slightly as his other hand felt its way to her other wrist and pinned it above her head as well. River winced, tensed up as a sharp pain shot down her arm from her bandaged wrist. Riddick pulled away from her quickly and let go of her wrist slowly, squeezing it just before he did. She sat herself back down in the co-pilot chair, unwrapping her legs from around his waist and suddenly remembering that she was actually trying to recover from frostbite and yanked the blankets back up and around her. Riddick sat himself back down in the pilot chair and went back to flipping switches and pressing buttons, glancing over at her from the corner of his eye occasionally.

"So, where are we going?"

He looked over at her with a sly smirk on his lips, raising his eyebrow as he spoke.

"Somewhere warm."

Smiling, she turned back to the exo-glass and stared out at the stars and distant planets that very gradually where getting a tiny bit closer. Once Riddick had scanned the nearby systems for the nearest quiet planet and plotted a course in, he turned to look at her, studying every little detail on her face.

"You planning on smacking me again?"

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, a smile spread across her face. He turned back to the control pane, smirking to himself.

"Only if you're planning on being a pain in the ass again."

"Hay! That was you're fault."

"Anyway, I think I could start liking the idea of kicking your ass daily."

River turned her head and looked at him with her mouth hanging open in deadpan surprise. His smirked grew into a cheeky smile as he glanced over to find the chair empty.

"You'd have to catch me first!"

Her voice echoed from the bottom of the ladder. Riddick found himself turning the autopilot on quickly and sliding down the ladder at high speed in chase.

* * *

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed it and thank you to everyone who reviewed it, you all helped me out so much by supporting and advising me. Thanks! . Please review it so I know that you liked or disliked it and if there could be any improvements.

Hugs

Lostariel

XxX


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